You won't need the 81mg aspirin.

Each tablet contains 325mg of aspirin...so it is like taking two aspirin tablets.

There is an non aspirin version called AlkaSeltzer Gold...but usually
you have to special order that..it is available online at www.drugstore.com

I have never used the Gold. I use generic AlkaSeltzer from Wal-Mart for
$1.57 a box. And I find I don't need it every day either.

I think it works so well because it is effervescent..and is absorbed with
that buffering very rapidly. We studied it back in the 60's in college..in the
first drug kinetics class taught at U of Mich. It was taught by John Wagner PhD, who was then working at Upjohn. He gave us data, showing that the aspirin in AlkaSeltzer (there were no other products in the line then) delivered the aspirin as fast as an IV shot. I think this burst into the blood stream,
sends buffers and the aspirin to the body very quickly and neutralizes the
acidic pain causing molecules at the nerve endings.

I have always used aspirin itself, but when used alone, in tablet form, it does
not give the same relief/response for me that the AlkaSeltzer does. When I was stranded with my leg/tendon injury on the island 2 summers ago...AlkaSeltzer worked better than
tylenol or Aleve (I tried 3 OTC Aleve's max--equivalent to Anaprox DS RX).

People on blood thinners, cannot take this much aspirin however...so AlkaSeltzer Gold would be a compromise.

There have been times I have tried using one tablet and not the two in
the packet. It works too, but not as dramatically. They keep if you fold
the foil over and put in a small Ziplock.

There is this comment on the website and on the package...that you don't need to drink the "residue" left behind.
I put my tablets (I break them in half) into my water bottle, with about 6-8oz of water in the bottom. I then shake it
up after it dissolves (I can't take the "gas" in the bubbles), and find that when it goes flat, the rest does dissolve, so
I drink it all. The "residue" is soluble. I think it might be the citrate, which is helpful for other acid/base issues.